Beef Caldereta (my version)

One of the Filipino dish that my husband really loves is beef caldereta.  He said the best beef caldereta that he had was the one served at Mina's Restaurant in Hagonoy, Bulacan.  This time though he said mine is closer to the caldereta of Mina's....so that means I'm improving? hahhaha. 


 Kaldereta is originally a goat stew made with tomato sauce, potatoes, spices, liver spread, olives, bell peppers and hot peppers. Originally adapted from the Spanish during their 300 year occupation of the Philippines.Kaldereta is a favorite Filipino meal served during parties, festivities and other special occasions in the Philippines. It is a Spanish-influenced dish (the Spanish word "caldera" means cauldron) that became to be Filipinos' favorite and made their own versions. Originally, the main ingredients of this dish includes goat meat, tomato sauce, liver, pepper and cheese.  You can still get this yummy calderetang kambing in Pampanga.


Variations of this dish is with beef, chicken and or pork. Beef Kaldereta is a common dish in the Philippines made with stewing cuts of beef simmered until tender.

In this recipe, I am using Mama Sita's caldereta mix to get the real taste of caldereta.  We are quite far from the Filipino shop so whenever we go there, I will buy a lot of sauce mix.  I do not depend though on the mix itself because I love adding other ingredients and enhance its flavour.  You will notice that I added a lot of garlic.  Believe me it tastes better with more garlic.  So why don't you try cooking this one.  I am quite sure you will love it too.


Ingredients:
1 K beef
3 medium size, carrots
2 medium size, potatoes
1 capsicum (bell pepper), julliene
1/4 C soy sauce
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp garlic, granules
1 medium size, onions, diced
1/3 C cheese, grated
1 tsp flaked chillis
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 pc tomato, diced
50 g butter
1 C coconut cream
1/2 packet of Mama Sita's Caldereta mix

Procedure:

1. Boil beef in 5 C of water with the soy sauce until it's tender.  Remove from water.  Set aside the broth.
2. Sear beef in a bit of oil.  Use non-stick pan if you have.  Fry in the same pan the carrots and potatoes.
3. Lessen the oil in the pan.  Put in the butter.  Sautee onions, garlic, tomatoes and capcicum.  Add the beef and potatoes and carrots.  Let the flavour mixed first before you put in the broth.
4. Boil everything up until a bit of the juice evaporates. 
5. Put in the grated cheese and tomato paste.  Add the caldereta mix. Let it boil.
6. Add a bit of water if it's getting too dry. 
7. Lower the fire.  Add the chilli flakes and garlic granules.
8. Put in the coconut cream.
9. Simmer until the sauce gets thick.
10. Serve hot.

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Leslie's Bulaluhan Restaurant

Tagaytay is not only famous because of view of Taal Lake and Volcano, Tagaytay Highlands and it's cool temperature.  It is also well known because of the cattle produce that it has.  It is equally famous for its bulaluhan restaurants.  Leslie's Restaurant which is located along Aguinaldo Highway, Tagaytay is quite known for its bulalo.  When you enter the restaurant, you will immediately notice the big bowls of bulalo in each table proving that it is their best seller. The bone marrow that you get from tapping the big bones would just melt in your mouth.  Just a bit of warning though to those who have blood pressure problems.  Aside from bulalo, you can also try the tuyo ( I think it is adobong tuyo) . Aside from enjoying the view  (Taal lake and volcano) and the food, guests are also entertained by a band that goes from table to table singing Tagalog songs.  The price would be a bit dear for locals but it doesn't stop them from going to the place.

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Baked Fish Fillet in Lemon and Olive Oil

Living in Australia makes me crave a lot for tilapya, bangus, asuhos, sapsap, aligasin etc.  I miss the pangat with tomatoes and oil cooked by my father when he was still around.  I guess that's our easy and cheap dish to cook that's why we would always have it.  In Hagonoy, fish and other seafoods are not a problem.  Even if you do not go to the palengke (market) at the town center, street vendors will come to your house selling you freshly caught seafoods. 

My brother would often joke that our meal is called bente - bente (Php 20) because my parents would often buy the Php20/tumpok seafood. That's how cheap it is to live in our place.

Anyway, I am sure that most of the Filipinos from the provinces of the Tagalog region would probably know how to cook pangat na isda.  My father had a lot of ways doing it depending on what kind of fish did we have then.  He would cook pangat na tuyo (dry pangat), pangat sa kamatis (tomatoes), pangat sa kamias (bilimbi) and these are just 3 ways of cooking pangat.  If I make a list of the ways my father cooked pangat, it will certainly be a long one.

I did a twist to the usual pangat that I am used to have.  Instead of cooking it on a stove, I baked it.  The taste is just so good and my husband loved it.  You can replace the fish in the recipe if you want.

Ingredients:
1/2 K of fish fillet (tuna or salmon or hoki)
lemon juice
olive oil
3 big tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C
2. Marinate the fish fillet with salt and pepper
3. Put the fish fillet in a foil.
4. Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice and seal the foil.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes (depende sa size ng fish)

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Pasta Carbonara

Carbonaro is an Italian word which means charcoal burner.   Italians believe that this noodle dish was first made for Italian charcoal workers.   There was even a suggestion that it was made to give tribute to  Carbonari which means "charcoalmen", a secret society prominent in the unification of Italy.

It was first described after the war a Roman dish, when many Italians were eating eggs and bacon supplied by troops from the US.  It was even called "coal miner's spaghetti" in some parts of the US.  (wikipedia, Better Homes and Garden Magazine)

I've seen a lot of carbonara recipe in cook books, internet and magazines.  Some are complicated though.  What I did is to simplify the ingredients and the measurements making sure that the pasta carbonara will not become dry.  The amount of the ingredients is very easy to memorised.  My husband asked me once when I was cooking at my in - laws' place if I could really remember the ingredients, the measurements and the method.  Of course I said YES!  I can even cook this with my eyes closed LOL.

Ingredients:
500 g spaghetti/fetuccine noodles
400-500 g bacon
100 g butter
1 C thickened cream
1 C parmesan cheese, grated
1 tbsp garlic, minced
2 medium onions, minced
5 eggs
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Cook the noodles according to package instruction.  If there is no instruction, just cook it in a boiling water with salt and oil for 18 minutes.  If you are using angel hair pasta the cooking time is shorter.
2. Fry the bacon (do not slice yet...most of the recipes you will find will tell you to use bacon rashers which I hate using because I always get blisters from the hot oil or butter) in the butter.  It will depend on you if you want the bacon cooked crisp or not.  I prefer cooking half of the bacon crispy and the other half, just cooked.  When the bacon is cool enough, use a pair of scissors (instead of a knife)  to cut it into small pieces.  Set aside.
3. Whisk in a bowl the cream, cheese and eggs.  Add salt and pepper.
4. Sautee onions and garlic.  Add half of the bacon.  Put in the noodles.  Make sure that everything is well mixed. 
5. Pour the sauce mixture and bled well.
6. Top with bacon and serve.

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Cinnamon Roll ala Cinnabon

Have you ever had cinnamon roll in the morning with a cup or tea or coffee?  It's completely heaven!  There are various bakeshop or cafe where you can buy this lovely sweet pastry.  My favourite is definitely Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls although the price is a bit dear but it's worth it.  In the Philippines, The French Bakers is also a good place to buy cinnamon. 

According to what I have read, this delightful pastry originated in Sweden. It is known as kanelbulle which means "cinnamon bun". It's interesting to know that they even have a day of celebration every October 4 in honor of cinnamon bun. They call it "kanelbullens dag."
I could not remember where I got the recipe (below) on the internet but I got this website www.grouprecipes.com which I think has similar ingredients and procedure.

Ingredients:
dough
1 (1/4 oz) package of dry yeast
1 c warm milk
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/3 c margarine
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 c flour

filling
1 c packed brown sugar (powdered similar to caster sugar texture)
2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1/3 c margarine, softened

icing
1 1/2 c caster sugar
1/4 c cream cheese (kraft easy cheese)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Procedure:

1. To make the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
2. Knead the though into a large balle, using your hands. 
3. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about an hour or until the dough has doubled its size.
4. Roll the dough on a floured surface until it is approximately 21"x16" in size, 1/4" thick.
5. Preheat oven to 400 F or 200 C if fan forced.
6. To make the filling, combine the ingredients into a bowl.  Spread the filling on the surface of the dough.  Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon evenly.
7. Roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
8. Cut into 1 3/4 " slices and place in a lightly greased baking pan.
9. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
10. While the rolls are baking, prepare the icing.  Use electric mixer when mixing all the ingredients.  Beat until fluffy.
11. Remove the rolls from the oven and spread on top with the icing.

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Pan Fried T-Bone Steak

Aussies love steaks a lot and my husband is no exception.  One thing I noticed when steaks are prepared, only salt and pepper are added to the meat. My husband and I would always try to experiment with condiments to make the steaks tastes different when we have them.  This time the easiest to do it is to add paprika.  Paprika is a spice made from grinding dried capcicum or chilli peppers.


Ingredients:
paprika
salt
pepper


Procedure:

1. Heat a non-stick pan.  Make sure that it is warm enough when you put the oil in.
2. Fry the steaks.

To know how do you want your steak cooked, click on "How well do u know your steak?" on tips and tricks.

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How well do you know your steak? Part 1

Raw
Uncooked meat like in carpaccio dish

Very Rare
The type of steak known as Pittsburgh Rare, bloody rare/hell.  It is just seared outside but quite rare inside and barely warm.


Rare
A rare steak is red inside. Its center is warm, but not much more.  The outside is grey brown but the middle is pure red and just about slightly warm.  Press on your forearm near the elbow to simulate the springyness of a rare steak.(52 °C or 126 °F core temperature)


Medium rare
A medium rare steak is red in the center but completely heated. The outer rim is pink instead of red. The color of the middle is reddish pink.  This is usually the standard cooking of steaks in most steakhouses.  Press on your forearm a little farther from the elbow to feel the resistance of a medium rare steak.(55 °C or 131 °F core temperature)

Medium
The meat is grey- brown outside.  The middle of the steak is hot and fully pink surrounding the center. Press on the middle of your forearm to simulate the resistance of a steak cooked to medium.  (63 °C or 145 °F core temperature)

Medium well
The meat is lightly pink surrounding the center but not quite dried out . It has the slightest trace of red in the center. The resistance most of the way down your arm resembles the resistance of a medium well steak.(68 °C or 154 °F core temperature)
Well done
It has no red and some would like little or no pink inside. It is also slightly charred. It is called German style in some parts of England.  It has very little springyness to it. (73 °C or163 °F and above core temperature)

Overcooked (much more than 90 °C or 194 °F  core temperature) The meat is blackened throughout and slightly crispy.

source:  US recommended steak temperatures; rayadair.net

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Crab, Corn and Pea Soup

Last night, I was supposed to cook a crab and corn soup but unfortunately all the crab and soup recipes need corn kernel in heavy syrup (which I don't have). Since it was too late for my hubby to go to the shops to buy me a tin of corn kernel, I had to use whatever we had in the pantry and fridge. I decided to use the corn and peas packet and it turned out really good. So, instead of having crab and corn soup, we ended up having crab, corn and pea soup.


Ingredients:
1 1/2 C corn and peas
1 C crab meat, shredded
1 medium size onion, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
200 ml thickened cream
salt and pepper to taste
2 chicken broth cubes dissolved in 4 C hot water

1 1/2 C corn and peas, pureed

Procedure:

1. Puree the corn and peas in a blender.  Set aside.
2. Dissolve the chicken broth cubes in the hot water.
3. Sautee onions and garlic.  Add crab meat and corn and peas.
4. Pour the broth to the saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Put in the puree.
5. Add salt and pepper.
6. Remove from fire.
7. Add the cream while the soup is still warm.
8. Serve hot.

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Stir - fry Beef and Veggies

When you are a stay at home mum, most of your time would be spend on caring for the kids, cooking and cleaning (which is not my forte so I leave this one to my husband haha!). So, anyway, I remember cooking this one when I ran out of ideas on what to cook. This is quite an easy dish so I am sure anyone can cook this one.

Ingredients:

1/2 K beef, strips

500 g of mixed winter veggies

10 pcs of good young corn (if there are none in your winter veggie mix)

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 medium size onions, chopped

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp worcestershire sauce

olive oil

pepper

Procedure:

1. Marinade the beef strips with a bit of olive oil, garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and pepper. Let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Sautee onions and garlic in a wok. Add and sear the beef. Add the veggies. Pour a bit of water if it is a bit salty to your liking.

Note:

If you do not have a mixed winter veggies pack, just chop up some veggies similar to those used in chop suey.

You have an option of adding water to it or not. I prefer to add a bit of water (1 cup) just to keep the taste balanced.

You can add or deduct the sauces to your liking as well as the amount of garlic that you want to put. My husband loves garlic so I tend to add more.

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Honey Apricot Loaf

I've got this recipe from That's Life, an Australian magazine. I did a little change in the measurement of dried apricots. Instead of using 3/4 C, I used 1 C. I've been forgetting to buy a medium sized loaf pan so I have to use a bigger one. This is the reason why I had to adjust the baking time. Instead of 40 - 45 minutes, I baked the loaf for 30 minutes. 

I love apricots! They taste similar to mangoes so I am thinking that may be I would use mangoes instead of apricots. Baking this recipe is quite easy. Just make sure that you have all the ingredients ready while you're boiling apricots in honey and water mixture. By the way, use pure honey. When folding in the apricots and sifted flour, use a metal spoon because it can incorporate more air than wooden spoons.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 C self - raising flour, sifted

1/3 C brown sugar, packed

1/2 C honey

100 g butter, softened

3/4 C dried apricots

2 eggs

1/2 C water

Procedure:

1. Chopp the apricots and put in a small saucepan. Add the water and the honey. Bring to a boil. When it gets a bit thicker, remove from fire and let cool. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter using an electric mixer. Add the sugar. Mix until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time until well blended.
3. Fold in the sifted flour and apricot/honey mixture alternately.
4. Pour the batter in a greased loaf pan.
5. Bake in a preaheated oven at 170 C. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes.

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Dads and Kamayan/Saisaki

One the most memorable restaurants that my husband and I went to is Dad's Kamayan Saisaki, located along West. Ave. Quezon City (Philippines).  Right after we had our civil marriage ceremony at Quezon City Hall, we had the ultimate buffet at Dad's  together with my family.  We had booked the seats 4 days before the event but we forgot to tell the staff that we wanted a private room. The staff was very helpful when we got there. (click on the title to read more)

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